Following practice on Monday, I had the chance to speak with LB Pete Robertson, DE Branden Jackson, WR Jakeem Grant, and defensive line coach Mike Smith. Here's what they had to say following their 69-20 win against UTEP last week and their preparation for the Razorbacks this week.
Pete Robertson
-Robertson, who was making his first appearance of the year on Saturday, was very happy with how the team played and the improvements they made over last week.
“I feel like I did good, but most importantly we are a team, and I thought my brothers went out there and did well. In general we played better than we did last week and we came out with something on our minds and something on our chest. We came out ready to play.”
-Robertson filled up the stat sheet last week, recording 4 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, a sack, and a pass break up. He shared his thought on his performance on Saturday.
“I can’t grade my performance, but I’ll grade our performance as a team. I think the defense in general played good; we had some mistakes but that’s going to happen in a game like that with a team like that and the running back that they had. Mistakes are going to happen, but we came away with a win.”
-Robertson was also very complimentary of the rest of his position group that line up next to him every Saturday.
“Branden Jackson, Rika Levi and Breiden Fehoko and even the guys that come in behind them like Zach Barnes, Gary Moore, Keland McElrath, and Marcus (Smith) all of those guys do a great job of doing their role. Coach Smith does a good job coaching us and putting us in good position to do well.”
-The win vs. UTEP was a big confidence-booster for this team, but everyone in that locker room knows the challenge that awaits them this week as they travel to face Arkansas.
“It’s going to be a good game; even though they lost last week, that doesn’t define that team. They are a great team and we played them last year and they did some things we weren’t expecting them to do and they got a great o-line and a great RB. We are just ready to play and we are going to come out hard tomorrow and work hard to get ready for Saturday.”
-When Tech played the Razorbacks last year in Lubbock, Arkansas left Jones Stadium with 49 points and 439 rushing yards to their credit. This year Arkansas is averaging under 150 rush yards per game but is averaging 360 yards per game through the air. Robertson and the defense expect plenty of running on Saturday, though.
“We are expecting them to run it. Arkansas is not a passing team, they have guys who can make plays on the outside, but we know deep down inside that they are a ground and pound team, and we are going down there and they are going to try to defend their home turf by running down our throat.”
-Robertson’s specialty is being an excellent edge rusher, but against an Arkansas team that will run the ball a lot, Robertson’s role might look a little different on Saturday.
“Just playing my assignment; wherever coach wants to line me up, I am going to go 100 percent and so is the whole d-line and the rest of the defense. We are just going to play our assignment and keys and hopefully we will pull out a win.”
-All the players remember last year and are using that as motivation this week against Arkansas.
“I hope our motivation is that season we had last year going 4-8. That was a team we were capable of beating and this year we are bouncing back and letting the nation know that it is Texas Tech.”
Branden Jackson
-Against UTEP, the senior defensive end only recorded 2 tackles. Jackson wasn’t pleased with his performance and gave his assessment of his play on Saturday.
“I feel like I had a mediocre performance. I feel like the leader that I am, the player that I am, and the player that I want to be, I didn’t have a great impact on the game. It was good to be out there with players like Pete and Gary Moore who really made up for my slack and made a lot of plays.”
-This week should be a different story for Jackson as the players behind him have really pushed him to get better and work harder.
“I really don’t have to do much. Gary (Moore) put on a great performance last week and he has pushed me like no other. Steel sharpens steel. His performance last week has been an inspiration to me and has got me ready to go.”
-Jackson expressed similar sentiments as Robertson in that he whole-heartedly expects Arkansas to attempt to run it a lot more than the first two weeks of the season.
“Arkansas is a very talented team. I expect them to do what they did last year and that’s run the ball every play, get big yards, make big plays, hit a couple pass plays, and just stay true to themselves. We must get them uneasy and out of their comfort zone,” he said.
“They want to run the ball, and I can’t blame them because they are really good at that. After that, we are going to focus to stop the run even more and hopefully that is good enough to get them off pace.”
-Even with the 49-point win from a week ago, Jackson and the d-line feel like there is a lot of work left to do. The matchup this week against the Razorbacks’ big OL has got many of the d-linemen very excited for the game next Saturday.
“Coach Smith told us last week that our performance wasn’t good enough if we want to be the unit that we set out to be at the beginning of the year. Against Arkansas, if you call yourself a defensive lineman, you have to love games like this; games where the offensive linemen are huge and aggressive and it is kind of where you leave your mark and get paid so to speak. We are just going to go out there and show everyone that we can play with the big boys.”
Jakeem Grant
-Big-play threat Jakeem Grant posted 7 receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown on Saturday. The senior receiver had a career day receiving but gave all the praise to his teammates for his performance on Saturday.
“I would say that being consistent is the key and just catching every ball that is thrown to me. I’m blessed by God to get to go out there with my teammates and having DeAndre run the ball down their throat and open me up. The linemen block tremendously well so that Pat can get me the ball, and I thank them for that.”
-An opening-drive 60 yard touchdown catch was the highlight of the day for Grant. Pat Mahomes threw him a great deep ball and the downfield blocking by his fellow receivers sprung him for the score. Grant spoke about what it’s like catching deep balls from Mahomes.
“It’s great, it is exciting. I’m typically the underneath guy and when I got the long throw I was like ‘I have to score here.’ It was just fun and exciting,” he said.
“Jonathan Giles picked up a great block for me. He knew I could make the guy miss, and he picked up the block for me and that’s what sprung my touchdown.”
-Last week it was Devin Lauderdale filling up the stat sheet to the tune of 8 receptions, 150 yards and 2 touchdowns and this week was Grant’s turn to produce some offensive fireworks. Tech has a very talented receiving core this year and Grant loves the opportunity to play with all of those guys.
“It is definitely great. We have a little competition going with each other trying to push each other to the highest peak. We always talk about and compete to see who is going to have the most receiving yards in each game. Each of us will say that we are going to have the most, but that’s all we do, it’s just a competition. We might not even be playing against anyone, but we still go out and compete against each other. One thing about it though, is we play for each other. We want each other to succeed at their highest level.”
-Grant and the offense has already spent a lot of time watching film on the Razorbacks and is excited for the chance at redemption on Saturday. Grant shared his thoughts on the game and the defense Arkansas runs.
“I’m just going to continue to be me. As a team we are going to continue to do what we do. We aren’t going to go out there and do something unbelievable. They are a great team and a great defense to match up against. I know they are angry coming off their loss, but we are angry too coming off of 4-8. It’s going to be a great battle with two angry teams going at it,” he said.
“I see that they play a lot of cover 4 and they play cover 2 and man as well. They blitz a lot on third downs. I think it is going to be great because we can get our hot routes open and get our playmakers open. They are a great defense, and they will be a great matchup come Saturday.”
Pete Robertson
-Robertson, who was making his first appearance of the year on Saturday, was very happy with how the team played and the improvements they made over last week.
“I feel like I did good, but most importantly we are a team, and I thought my brothers went out there and did well. In general we played better than we did last week and we came out with something on our minds and something on our chest. We came out ready to play.”
-Robertson filled up the stat sheet last week, recording 4 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, a sack, and a pass break up. He shared his thought on his performance on Saturday.
“I can’t grade my performance, but I’ll grade our performance as a team. I think the defense in general played good; we had some mistakes but that’s going to happen in a game like that with a team like that and the running back that they had. Mistakes are going to happen, but we came away with a win.”
-Robertson was also very complimentary of the rest of his position group that line up next to him every Saturday.
“Branden Jackson, Rika Levi and Breiden Fehoko and even the guys that come in behind them like Zach Barnes, Gary Moore, Keland McElrath, and Marcus (Smith) all of those guys do a great job of doing their role. Coach Smith does a good job coaching us and putting us in good position to do well.”
-The win vs. UTEP was a big confidence-booster for this team, but everyone in that locker room knows the challenge that awaits them this week as they travel to face Arkansas.
“It’s going to be a good game; even though they lost last week, that doesn’t define that team. They are a great team and we played them last year and they did some things we weren’t expecting them to do and they got a great o-line and a great RB. We are just ready to play and we are going to come out hard tomorrow and work hard to get ready for Saturday.”
-When Tech played the Razorbacks last year in Lubbock, Arkansas left Jones Stadium with 49 points and 439 rushing yards to their credit. This year Arkansas is averaging under 150 rush yards per game but is averaging 360 yards per game through the air. Robertson and the defense expect plenty of running on Saturday, though.
“We are expecting them to run it. Arkansas is not a passing team, they have guys who can make plays on the outside, but we know deep down inside that they are a ground and pound team, and we are going down there and they are going to try to defend their home turf by running down our throat.”
-Robertson’s specialty is being an excellent edge rusher, but against an Arkansas team that will run the ball a lot, Robertson’s role might look a little different on Saturday.
“Just playing my assignment; wherever coach wants to line me up, I am going to go 100 percent and so is the whole d-line and the rest of the defense. We are just going to play our assignment and keys and hopefully we will pull out a win.”
-All the players remember last year and are using that as motivation this week against Arkansas.
“I hope our motivation is that season we had last year going 4-8. That was a team we were capable of beating and this year we are bouncing back and letting the nation know that it is Texas Tech.”
Branden Jackson
-Against UTEP, the senior defensive end only recorded 2 tackles. Jackson wasn’t pleased with his performance and gave his assessment of his play on Saturday.
“I feel like I had a mediocre performance. I feel like the leader that I am, the player that I am, and the player that I want to be, I didn’t have a great impact on the game. It was good to be out there with players like Pete and Gary Moore who really made up for my slack and made a lot of plays.”
-This week should be a different story for Jackson as the players behind him have really pushed him to get better and work harder.
“I really don’t have to do much. Gary (Moore) put on a great performance last week and he has pushed me like no other. Steel sharpens steel. His performance last week has been an inspiration to me and has got me ready to go.”
-Jackson expressed similar sentiments as Robertson in that he whole-heartedly expects Arkansas to attempt to run it a lot more than the first two weeks of the season.
“Arkansas is a very talented team. I expect them to do what they did last year and that’s run the ball every play, get big yards, make big plays, hit a couple pass plays, and just stay true to themselves. We must get them uneasy and out of their comfort zone,” he said.
“They want to run the ball, and I can’t blame them because they are really good at that. After that, we are going to focus to stop the run even more and hopefully that is good enough to get them off pace.”
-Even with the 49-point win from a week ago, Jackson and the d-line feel like there is a lot of work left to do. The matchup this week against the Razorbacks’ big OL has got many of the d-linemen very excited for the game next Saturday.
“Coach Smith told us last week that our performance wasn’t good enough if we want to be the unit that we set out to be at the beginning of the year. Against Arkansas, if you call yourself a defensive lineman, you have to love games like this; games where the offensive linemen are huge and aggressive and it is kind of where you leave your mark and get paid so to speak. We are just going to go out there and show everyone that we can play with the big boys.”
Jakeem Grant
-Big-play threat Jakeem Grant posted 7 receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown on Saturday. The senior receiver had a career day receiving but gave all the praise to his teammates for his performance on Saturday.
“I would say that being consistent is the key and just catching every ball that is thrown to me. I’m blessed by God to get to go out there with my teammates and having DeAndre run the ball down their throat and open me up. The linemen block tremendously well so that Pat can get me the ball, and I thank them for that.”
-An opening-drive 60 yard touchdown catch was the highlight of the day for Grant. Pat Mahomes threw him a great deep ball and the downfield blocking by his fellow receivers sprung him for the score. Grant spoke about what it’s like catching deep balls from Mahomes.
“It’s great, it is exciting. I’m typically the underneath guy and when I got the long throw I was like ‘I have to score here.’ It was just fun and exciting,” he said.
“Jonathan Giles picked up a great block for me. He knew I could make the guy miss, and he picked up the block for me and that’s what sprung my touchdown.”
-Last week it was Devin Lauderdale filling up the stat sheet to the tune of 8 receptions, 150 yards and 2 touchdowns and this week was Grant’s turn to produce some offensive fireworks. Tech has a very talented receiving core this year and Grant loves the opportunity to play with all of those guys.
“It is definitely great. We have a little competition going with each other trying to push each other to the highest peak. We always talk about and compete to see who is going to have the most receiving yards in each game. Each of us will say that we are going to have the most, but that’s all we do, it’s just a competition. We might not even be playing against anyone, but we still go out and compete against each other. One thing about it though, is we play for each other. We want each other to succeed at their highest level.”
-Grant and the offense has already spent a lot of time watching film on the Razorbacks and is excited for the chance at redemption on Saturday. Grant shared his thoughts on the game and the defense Arkansas runs.
“I’m just going to continue to be me. As a team we are going to continue to do what we do. We aren’t going to go out there and do something unbelievable. They are a great team and a great defense to match up against. I know they are angry coming off their loss, but we are angry too coming off of 4-8. It’s going to be a great battle with two angry teams going at it,” he said.
“I see that they play a lot of cover 4 and they play cover 2 and man as well. They blitz a lot on third downs. I think it is going to be great because we can get our hot routes open and get our playmakers open. They are a great defense, and they will be a great matchup come Saturday.”
